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emphasize the fact that Hebrew is a syllabic language. There are no unique consonantal
combinations such as diphthongs (or glides) like cl, gr,
bl,
as in English.
G. Hebrew Word Order.
The normal word order of a verbal sentence in a Hebrew
narrative or prose passage is:
Verb-Object-Indirect Object or
Pronoun-Subject
However, it is interesting to note that the Hebrew word order for a nominal sentence
may parallel that of English:
Subject-Verb-Predicate
Nominative/Adjective
Hebrew writers frequently departed from the verbal arrangement for the sake of
emphasis. Yet a Hebrew sentence can seldom be translated into English word-for-word,
because the result would be meaningless. Over the centuries, translators have developed
standard ways to express these peculiar Semitic thought forms in IndoEuropean speech.
H. Foreign Words in Hebrew.
The Old Testament uses foreign words in various
ways, depending upon the context. Akkadian proper names often appear in the patriarchal
narratives of Genesis. Here are some examples:
(Sumero-Akkadian)
Sumer=
Shinar (Hebrew)
(Akkadian)
Sharrukin = Nimrod
(Hebrew)
Several Egyptian terms appear in the narrative of Joseph, just as Babylonian terms
appear in the writings of Isaiah Jeremiah, and Persian words in the Book of Daniel. None
of these words have theological significance, however. There is little linguistic evidence
that the religious concepts of Israel were borrowed from foreign sources.
The greatest inroad of a foreign idiom is the case of the Aramaic language, which
appears in several isolated verses and some entire chapters of the Book of Daniel. As we
have already noted, Aramaic became the primary religious language of the Jews living
outside of Palestine after the Babylonian Captivity.
I. The Written Text of the Hebrew Bible.
The Hebrew text of the Old Testament
offers two immediate problems to the uninitiated reader. First is the fact that Hebrew is
read from right to left, unlike Indo-European languages; each character of the text and its
attendant symbols are read from top to bottom, as well as from right to left. Second is the
fact that written Hebrew is a complicated system of syllable symbols, each of which has
three components.
The first component is the sign for the consonant itself. Some of the less frequent
consonantal signs stand for vowel sounds. (These letters are
Arch
[indicating the long
a
sound],
waw
[to indicate the long u sound], and
yod
[to indicate the "ee" sound-as in
"see"].) The second component is the pattern of vowel points. The third component is the
pattern of
cantellations,
which were added during the Middle Ages to aid cantors in
singing the text. Some practice is required before a person is able to read the Hebrew text
using all of the three components. The accompanying illustration shows the direction and
sequence for reading the text. (Cantellations are omitted).
ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION:
The specific vowel points and their sequence within the word indicate the weight or
accentuation to be given to each syllable of the word. Different traditions within Judaism
indicate different ways of pronouncing the same Hebrew word, and the vowel points of a
particular manuscript will reflect the pronunciation used by the scribes who copied the